State
of
the
Na*on
Study:
K-­‐12
Online
Learning
in
Canada
Michael
K.
Barbour
Sacred
Heart
University
Randy
LaBonte
Canadian
eLearning
Network
(CANeLearn)

State of the Nation:
K–12 Online Learning in Canada
®
Written by
Michael K. Barbour,
Wayne State University

Canadian eLearning Network
http://CANeLearn.net

Canadian eLearning Network
• CANeLearn
is
a
pan-­‐Canadian
network
of
K12
online
and
blended
learning
schools
and
organiza=ons
• Focus
is
on
sharing
resources,
PD,
research
• Intent
is
to
leverage
collec=ve
to
promote
online
and
blended
learning
opportuni=es
• hFp://CANeLearn.net

Mission
CANeLearn's
mission
is
to
provide
leadership
that
champions
student
success
in
online
and
blended
learning
and
provides
members
with
networking,
collabora=on,
and
research
opportuni=es.

http://canelearn.net/state-of-the-nation-k-12-online-learning-in-canada/

Methodology

Na=onal
Overview
-­‐
Ac=vity

Na=onal
Overview
-­‐
Ac=vity
Province/Territory # of K-12
students
# enroled in
distance
education
Percent involvement
NL 67,436 884 1.3%
NS 122,643 ~2,720 2.2%
PE 20,131 108 0.5%
NB 101,079 2615 2.6%
QC 1,307,026 ~70,5000 5.4%
ON 2,015,411 78,095 3.9%
MB 200,807 ~12,000 6.0%
SK 172,205 ~10,000
1
5.8%
AB 616,375 ~75,000 12.2%
BC 635,057 77,912 12.3%
YT 5,122 182 3.5%
NT 8,204 228 2.8%
NU 9,728 33 <0.1%
Federal 106,500 ~1,800 0.1%
Total 5,387,724 332,077 6.2%
!

Na=onal
Overview
-­‐
Ac=vity

Na=onal
Overview
-­‐
Ac=vity
1. The
Saskatchewan
Ministry
of
Educa=on
provided
the
figure
of
2,611
students.
However,
based
on
previous
edi=ons
of
this
study,
the
Ministry
figure
oTen
represents
between
30%-­‐35%
of
the
total.

Na=onal
Overview
-­‐
Ac=vity
• 26%
response
rate
in
2011
• 14%
response
rate
in
2012
• 21%
response
rate
in
2013

Na=onal
Overview
-­‐
Regula=ons
1. Legisla=ve
language
to
specifically
govern
DE
• NS,
BC
2. Policy
handbooks
outlining
regula=on
to
par=cipate
in
DE
• NB,
ON,
MB
3. Individual
agreements
with
DE
programs
• PE,
ON,
BC,
YK,
NT,
NV,
Federal
(some)
4. None
• NL,
QC,
SK

Trends
1. K–12
distance
educa=on/elearning
con=nues
to
grow
each
year.
2. BeFer
data
collec=on
is
needed
to
be
able
to
understand
the
exact
level
of
K–12
distance
educa=on.
3. Blended
learning
is
pervasive,
but
oTen
not
recognized
as
blended
learning.
4. Unions
are
cau=ously
suppor=ve
5. Few
research
efforts,
limited
research
support,
but
more
research
is
required
to
beFer
guide
policy
makers.

Trends
-­‐
Growth

Trends
–
BeFer
Data
Province/Territory # of K-12
students
# enroled in
distance
education
Percent involvement
NL 67,436 884 1.3%
NS 122,643 ~2,720 2.2%
PE 20,131 108 0.5%
NB 101,079 2615 2.6%
QC 1,307,026 ~70,5000 5.4%
ON 2,015,411 78,095 3.9%
MB 200,807 ~12,000 6.0%
SK 172,205 ~10,000
1
5.8%
AB 616,375 ~75,000 12.2%
BC 635,057 77,912 12.3%
YT 5,122 182 3.5%
NT 8,204 228 2.8%
NU 9,728 33 <0.1%
Federal 106,500 ~1,800 0.1%
Total 5,387,724 332,077 6.2%
!

Trends
–
BeFer
Data
1. The
Saskatchewan
Ministry
of
Educa=on
provided
the
figure
of
2,611
students.
However,
based
on
previous
edi=ons
of
this
study,
the
Ministry
figure
oTen
represents
between
30%-­‐35%
of
the
total.

Trends
–
BeFer
Data
• 26%
response
rate
in
2011
• 14%
response
rate
in
2012
• 21%
response
rate
in
2013

Trends
–
Blended
Learning
• more
than
a
third
of
the
enrollments
in
the
New
Brunswick
provincial
learning
management
system
are
from
classroom
teachers
and
students
using
the
content
in
a
blended
fashion
• while
the
Learn
program
in
Quebec
serves
approximately
5300
students
engaged
in
its
distance
educa=on
programs,
it
has
more
than
150,000
enrollments
from
classroom
teachers
and
students
using
asynchronous
course
content
• Bri=sh
Columbia’s
Navigate
Program
in
the
Courtenay/
Comox
school
district
received
iNACOL’s
2014
Innova=ve
Prac=ce
of
the
year
award

Trends
–
Suppor=ve
Unions
• NLTA
partnered
with
the
CDLI
to
create
a
Virtual
Teachers
Centre
to
use
the
infrastructure
and
exper=se
of
the
K-­‐12
online
learning
program
to
deliver
online
professional
development
• several
teacher
unions
have
invested
in
research
into
how
teaching
at
a
distance
differs
from
teaching
in
the
classroom,
and
what
impact
that
has
on
the
workload
and
quality
of
life
of
their
members
who
teach
at
a
distance
(e.g.,
ATA
&
BCTF)
• NSTU
has
11
provisions
related
to
distance
educa=on
in
its
contract
that
focus
on
teacher
cer=fica=on,
workload
issues,
defini=on
of
a
school
day
for
DE,
school-­‐based
supervision
and
administra=on
of
DE
students,
DE
class
size,
professional
development,
and
governance
of
DE
programs

Trends
–
More
Research
• beyond
a
small
number
of
descrip=ve
and/or
overview
pieces,
there
is
very
liFle
research
• BCTF
-­‐
an
effort
to
understand
what
K-­‐12
distance,
online
and
blended
learning
mean
for
its
members
and
the
nature
of
their
work
life
• MUN
-­‐
two
federally
funded
ini=a=ves:
1. the
Centre
for
TeleLearning
and
Rural
Educa=on
2. the
Killick
Centre
for
E-­‐Learning
Research

http://canelearn.net/state-of-the-nation-k-12-online-learning-in-canada/

Your
Ques=ons
and
Comments

Contact Information
• Randy
LaBonte
– Chief
Execu=ve
Officer
– rlabonte@canelearn.net
hJp://CANeLearn.net

Director
of
Doctoral
Studies
Sacred
Heart
University,
USA
mkbarbour@gmail.com
hFp://www.michaelbarbour.com